Guides · Property and residency
Does buying property grant residency in Portugal, Spain or Dubai?
In Portugal no, since October 2023. In Spain no, since 3 April 2025. In Dubai yes: AED 2,000,000 of value registered at the Dubai Land Department gives a ten-year Golden Visa. In all three markets, a foreign national may buy without residing.
The answer changed in all three jurisdictions between 2023 and 2026, and it changed in different directions. Much of the information in circulation predates those changes. This guide sets out what changed in each market, when, under which instrument, what remains, and what that means for someone planning now.
Does buying property grant residency in the three markets?
One row per market. This table is the whole guide in summary; the rest of the page develops each row and names the source.
| Market | Does buying property grant residency? | Verified position |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | No | The property route into the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (Autorização de Residência para Investimento, ARI) was removed in October 2023, by Lei 56/2023. The routes of qualifying investment funds, donation to cultural heritage, scientific research and job creation remain. In May 2026 the revision of the nationality law took effect. |
| Spain | No | The golden visa was repealed with effect from 3 April 2025, by Ley Orgánica 1/2025. There is no direct replacement. Permits granted before that date remain valid. |
| Dubai | Yes | The threshold of AED 2,000,000 of value registered at the Dubai Land Department for the ten-year Golden Visa remains in place. In 2026 the rules were eased: the advance-payment requirement was relaxed and properties may be aggregated to reach the threshold. |
«No» means that buying property does not, in itself, open a route to residency. It does not mean that buying is closed off. In all three markets a foreign national may buy, with no restriction of nationality. They are two distinct questions, and the confusion between them sustains much of the incorrect information in circulation.
What changed in Portugal, and what replaced the ARI property route?
The property route into the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (Autorização de Residência para Investimento, ARI), known as the Golden Visa, was removed for new applications in October 2023, by Lei 56/2023. Applications submitted before that date continue to be handled under the previous rules.
Nothing replaced it in the same form. What remains are the other ARI routes, and none of them runs through the purchase of a property: qualifying investment funds, donation to cultural heritage, scientific research and job creation. These are investment routes with requirements of their own, not an alternative version of buying a house.
In May 2026 the revision of the nationality law took effect. Anyone planning on information from before October 2023 is planning against rules that no longer exist. Anyone planning naturalisation on information from before May 2026 should reconfirm the framework applying to their case.
The purchase itself has not changed. Any foreign national may buy property in Portugal, with no restriction of nationality and no requirement of prior residence. A Portuguese tax number (NIF) is required and, for non-residents domiciled outside the European Union, a fiscal representative must be appointed.
| Route | Threshold stated in law |
|---|---|
| Qualifying investment funds | From € 500,000 |
| Donation to cultural heritage | From € 250,000 |
| Scientific research | To be confirmed against the primary source |
| Job creation | To be confirmed against the primary source |
Where the column reads «to be confirmed against the primary source», the route exists and the threshold is not published on this page before it has been confirmed in the instrument. Publishing a threshold from memory is precisely how an incorrect figure survives for years online, which is the problem this guide exists to correct.
What this means for someone planning now
If the plan was to buy a property in order to obtain residency in Portugal, the plan cannot be executed, and it does not fail at the deed: it fails months later, when the residency application has no legal basis. If the objective is to live there, the decision about the route comes before the decision about the property and is a matter for legal advice. If the objective is to own a home in Portugal, nothing has changed: buying remains open.
Read the guide to buying in PortugalWhat changed in Spain after Ley Orgánica 1/2025?
The Spanish golden visa was repealed with effect from 3 April 2025, by Ley Orgánica 1/2025. The residency route through property investment ceased to exist and has not been reopened in another form. There is no direct replacement.
Permits granted before that date remain valid. Anyone already holding one does not lose it by force of the repeal. What is no longer possible is obtaining a new one by this route.
Buying remains open. A foreign national may buy property in Spain with no restriction of nationality and no requirement of prior residence.
Property transfer taxation is set at the level of the autonomous community. It therefore differs between Madrid, Andalusia and the Balearics, and the applicable rate must be checked for the community in question. We publish no percentage here: a rate that is correct in Madrid may be wrong in Palma, and a rate that is correct this year may be wrong the next.
Is there a 100% tax on buyers from outside the European Union?
There is a proposal. There is no law. It was announced in January 2025 and submitted to parliament in May 2025. It was not debated in plenary. It has no application date. It is not in force.
The question comes up often, and it is answered often, in both directions. A page describing it as a tax in force is wrong. A page guaranteeing that it will never exist is asserting more than is known. The correct answer is the one above, with the date on which it was confirmed.
| Statement | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Golden visa through the purchase of property | Repealed with effect from 3 April 2025, by Ley Orgánica 1/2025. |
| Permits granted before 3 April 2025 | Remain valid. |
| Direct replacement for the property route | There is none. |
| Purchase of property by foreign nationals | No restriction of nationality. |
| 100% tax on buyers from outside the European Union | A proposal announced in January 2025 and submitted to parliament in May 2025. It was not debated in plenary, has no application date and is not law. |
| Property transfer taxation | Set at the level of the autonomous community. It differs between communities and is confirmed for the community in question. |
What does the AED 2,000,000 threshold give in Dubai?
A registered value of AED 2,000,000 at the Dubai Land Department (DLD) gives a ten-year Golden Visa. Dubai is the only one of the three markets in which buying property opens, in itself, a route to residency.
In 2026 the rules were eased on two specific points. The advance-payment requirement was relaxed. And properties may now be aggregated to reach the threshold, rather than the threshold having to be met by a single property.
Freehold ownership by foreign nationals is possible in the areas designated for it. Outside those areas the regime is different. The area is therefore a preliminary check, not a detail on the particulars.
In off-plan purchases, registration is made through Oqood, projects are approved by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), and payments are protected by the project's escrow account. These are three distinct checks and all of them are made before signing.
What is verified before signing
| Element | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai Land Department (DLD) | The authority at which ownership is registered. | Registration is what constitutes and proves title, and it is the registered value that counts towards the threshold. |
| The AED 2,000,000 threshold | The registered value that gives access to the ten-year Golden Visa. | Below the threshold, the purchase does not open the residency route. It is the one row in this table that answers the question in the title. |
| Freehold area | A designated area in which a foreign national may hold freehold title. | It determines whether the acquisition is possible at all in the intended form. It is confirmed for the specific property, before an offer. |
| Oqood | The register for off-plan purchases. | It is where a unit under construction is recorded before definitive title exists. |
| Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) | The body that approves projects. | An unapproved project is not a cheaper version of the same transaction. |
| Project escrow account | The account in which the buyer's payments are held for the project. | It is the mechanism that separates the buyer's money from the developer's own treasury. |
What is the difference between tax residence and a residence permit?
They are two different things, and the confusion between them is frequent. A residence permit is a title that allows you to live in a country. Tax residence is the status that determines where income is declared and taxed.
They do not necessarily travel together. It is possible to hold a residence permit in a country and not be tax resident there. It is possible to become tax resident in a country with no relation whatever to the purchase of a property. And buying a property does not, in itself, determine either one, in any of the three markets.
The tests for tax residence are set by the law of each jurisdiction and not by the buyer's intention. We do not publish them here: they depend on the specific case, they are confirmed against the primary source and with tax advice, and they are confirmed before the purchase rather than after it.
| Aspect | Residence permit | Tax residence |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A title allowing you to live in the country, on the terms the title itself sets. | The status that determines where income is declared and taxed. |
| Where it comes from | From an application granted by the competent authority. | From applying the jurisdiction's legal tests to the specific case. |
| Does buying property give access? | In Dubai only, under the threshold of value registered at the Dubai Land Department. In Portugal and in Spain, no. | No, in none of the three markets. |
| What it does not imply | It does not imply becoming tax resident in that country. | It does not imply holding a residence title there. |
| Where it is confirmed | With the competent immigration authority. | With the tax administration and a qualified adviser. |
What does buying without residing actually require, in each market?
Buying does not require residing, in any of the three markets. It does require settling tax identification and representation before a property has been chosen, and the requirements are not the same in all three.
| Market | What the purchase requires | What the purchase gives in terms of residency |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | A Portuguese tax number (NIF). For non-residents domiciled outside the European Union, a fiscal representative. No restriction of nationality and no requirement of prior residence. | Nothing, since October 2023. The ARI property route was removed by Lei 56/2023. |
| Spain | Purchase with no restriction of nationality and no requirement of prior residence. The identification requirements for a foreign buyer, and the taxation of the transfer, are confirmed for the autonomous community in question.Taxation by community — to be confirmed | Nothing, since 3 April 2025. The golden visa was repealed by Ley Orgánica 1/2025 and has no direct replacement. |
| Dubai | A property in a freehold area and registration at the Dubai Land Department. Off-plan, registration through Oqood, a project approved by RERA, and payments into the project escrow account. | A ten-year Golden Visa from AED 2,000,000 of registered value. Below that threshold, the purchase does not open the route. |
The middle column describes what is needed in order to buy, not what is needed in order to live there. They are separate processes, with different authorities and different timetables, and treating them as one is where unsustainable plans begin.
What routes exist other than buying property?
There are residency routes with nothing to do with buying property, and they are often the right answer for someone who arrived here looking for a Golden Visa. We name them because they exist. We do not publish their conditions, thresholds or timescales here: that is material to be confirmed against the primary source and for the specific case, and an out-of-date condition is worse than none.
| Jurisdiction | Route | What this guide says about it |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | The D7 visa | It exists. Its conditions, thresholds and timescales are confirmed case by case and are not published here. |
| Portugal | The digital nomad visa | It exists. Its conditions, thresholds and timescales are confirmed case by case and are not published here. |
| Portugal | The tax regime known as IFICI | Named here because it appears in the same searches. It is a tax matter and not a residence title. Its conditions are confirmed case by case and are not published here. |
| Spain | The non-lucrative permit | It exists. Its conditions, thresholds and timescales are confirmed case by case and are not published here. |
For Dubai we name no alternative routes here. The route tied to buying property is set out above, with its threshold and its source; anything else belongs to the Dubai market page, which deals with it against its own source.
Frequently asked questions about property and residency
Does buying a property in Portugal grant residency?
No. The property route into the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (Autorização de Residência para Investimento, ARI), known as the Golden Visa, was removed for new applications in October 2023, by Lei 56/2023. Applications submitted before that date continue to be handled under the previous rules. Buying property remains open to foreign nationals, but it does not open a route to residency.
What replaced the ARI property route in Portugal?
Nothing, in the same form. The other Residence Permit for Investment Activity routes remain, and none of them runs through the purchase of a property: qualifying investment funds from € 500,000, donation to cultural heritage from € 250,000, scientific research, and job creation. These are investment routes with requirements of their own.
Are ARI applications submitted before October 2023 still being handled?
Yes. Applications submitted before Lei 56/2023 took effect continue to be handled under the previous rules. What the law removed was the submission of new applications through the property route.
Does the Spanish golden visa still exist?
No. The Spanish golden visa was repealed with effect from 3 April 2025, by Ley Orgánica 1/2025. There is no direct replacement: the residency route through property investment has not been reopened in another form.
Do Spanish permits granted before April 2025 remain valid?
Yes. Permits granted before 3 April 2025 remain valid. Anyone already holding one does not lose it by force of the repeal. What is no longer possible is obtaining a new one by this route.
Is there a 100% tax on buyers from outside the European Union in Spain?
There is a proposal, not a law. It was announced in January 2025 and submitted to parliament in May 2025. It was not debated in plenary, it has no application date and it is not in force. It may develop, which is why this answer carries a verification date.
What transfer taxes are payable in Spain?
Property transfer taxation is set at the level of the autonomous community, so it differs between Madrid, Andalusia and the Balearics. The applicable rate must be confirmed for the community in which the property sits. We publish no percentage on this page: a rate that is correct in one community may be wrong in another.
Does buying a property in Dubai grant residency?
Yes. AED 2,000,000 of value registered at the Dubai Land Department gives a ten-year Golden Visa. Dubai is the only one of the three markets in which buying property opens, in itself, a route to residency. Below that threshold, the purchase does not open the route.
What changed in the Dubai rules in 2026?
The rules were eased on two points. The advance-payment requirement was relaxed. And properties may now be aggregated to reach the threshold, rather than it having to be met by a single property.
May a foreign national buy property in all three markets?
Yes, in all three. In Portugal, with no restriction of nationality, with a Portuguese tax number (NIF) and, for non-residents domiciled outside the European Union, a fiscal representative. In Spain, with no restriction of nationality. In Dubai, freehold in the areas designated for it.
Do I have to live in the country in order to buy?
No, in none of the three markets. None of them requires prior residence in order to acquire a property. Buying, living somewhere and being tax resident there are three separate decisions, with different authorities and different timetables.
What is the difference between tax residence and a residence permit?
A residence permit is a title that allows you to live in a country and results from an application granted by the competent authority. Tax residence is the status that determines where income is declared and taxed, and results from applying the jurisdiction's legal tests to the specific case. They do not necessarily travel together, and buying a property does not, in itself, determine either one.
What protects payments in an off-plan purchase in Dubai?
Payments are protected by the project's escrow account, which separates the buyer's money from the developer's own treasury. The unit under construction is registered through Oqood, and projects are approved by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA). These are three distinct checks, all made before signature.
Where does this subject continue?
Each of the sections above has its own article in the Journal, in more detail and under the same requirement of source and date. They are linked from here as they are published.
The first editions are in preparation.
Which year is your plan based on
If your plan rests on something you read about a Golden Visa before 2023, it is worth rebuilding before choosing a property. The useful conversation starts with the objective — to live somewhere, to own a home, or to hold an asset — because the answer differs in each case, and so does the order of the decisions.